Highly Anisotropic Corncob as an Efficient Solar Steam-Generation Device with Heat Localization and Rapid Water Transportation.

Solar steam generation is receiving considerable interest because of its potential application in wastewater treatment and desalination. Many devices with various photothermal materials and structures have been demonstrated to be solar steam evaporators by improving their light absorption, heat loss, water transportation, and vapor escape. However, developing a biomass-based evaporator with heat localization and rapid water transportation is highly desired yet still challenging.

In the Search of Potential Serodiagnostic Proteins to Discriminate Between Acute and Chronic Q Fever in Humans. Some Promising Outcomes.

is the agent that causes acute and chronic Q fever infections in humans. Although the isolates studied so far have shown that the two forms of the disease differ in virulence potential thus, implying a variance in their proteomic profile, the methods used do not deliver enough discriminatory capability and often, human infections may be mis-diagnosed. The current study adds further knowledge to the results that we have already published on the Coxiella outer membrane protein 1 (Com1).

Recent progress in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. In the past decade, there have been improvements in non-drug therapies and drug therapies for HCC treatment. Non-drug therapies include hepatic resection, liver transplantation, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and ablation.

Novel Methylated DNA Markers in the Surveillance of Colorectal Cancer Recurrence.

Purpose: We aimed to assess the concordance of colorectal cancer-associated methylated DNA markers (MDM) in primary and metastatic colorectal cancer for feasibility in detection of distantly recurrent/metastatic colorectal cancer in plasma.

Experimental Design: A panel of previously discovered colorectal cancer-associated MDMs was selected. MDMs from primary and paired metastatic colorectal cancer tissue were assayed with quantitative methylation-specific PCR.

The Promise of Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the Management of Early-Stage Colon Cancer: A Critical Review.

The current standard treatment for patients with early-stage colon cancer consists of surgical resection, followed by adjuvant therapy in a select group of patients deemed at risk of cancer recurrence. The decision to administer adjuvant therapy, intended to eradicate the clinically inapparent minimal residual disease (MRD) to achieve a cure, is guided by clinicopathologic characteristics of the tumor. However, the risk stratification based on clinicopathologic characteristics is imprecise and results in under or overtreatment in a substantial number of patients.

Double Negativity for Expression of YAP1 and CDX2 Defines an Aggressive Type of Colitis-associated Cancer.

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have markedly increased risk for developing colitis-associated colorectal adenocarcinoma (CAC). There is no established prognostic biomarker for CAC.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study was performed on a cohort of 57 CACs.

Particle-attachment crystallization facilitates the occlusion of micrometer-sized in calcium carbonate crystals with stable fluorescence.

Inspired from the occlusion of macromolecules in mineral crystals during the biomineralization process, the occlusion mechanism of functional guest species into a host matrix is gradually revealed in artificial systems. However, the guest species within calcite crystals are limited to the nanometer scale. Herein, using amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) as a precursor and taking advantage of the crystallization of vaterite by the attachment of ACC nanoparticles, micrometer-sized modified Escherichia coli (E.

High-throughput sequencing reveals the molecular mechanisms determining the stay-green characteristic in soybeans.

Senescence is an internally systematized degeneration process leading to death in plants. Leaf yellowing, one of the most prominent features of plant aging may lead to reduced crop yields. The molecular mechanism of responses to senescence in soybean leaves is not completely clear.

Radical Dehydroxylative Alkylation of Tertiary Alcohols by Ti Catalysis.

Deoxygenative radical C-C bond-forming reactions of alcohols are a long-standing challenge in synthetic chemistry, and the current methods rely on multistep procedures. Herein, we report a direct dehydroxylative radical alkylation reaction of tertiary alcohols. This new protocol shows the feasibility of generating tertiary carbon radicals from alcohols and offers an approach for the facile and precise construction of all-carbon quaternary centers.

The Application of Circulating Tumor DNA in the Screening, Surveillance, and Treatment Monitoring of Colorectal Cancer.

Precision medicine with genetic profiling of tumor tissue has become an essential part of routine clinical practice in colorectal cancer. However, tissue genetic profiling suffers from clonal evolution, tumor heterogeneity, and time needed to deliver critical information for prompt clinical decision making. In contrast, liquid biopsy with plasma circulating tumor DNA provides genetic and epigenetic information from both the primary and metastatic colorectal cancer, which can potentially capture tumor heterogeneity and evolution with time and treatment.

Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for lymphoma: predictive biomarkers and clinical outcomes.

Background: CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy (CAR-T) has emerged as effective for relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (R/R LBCL). The neurologic toxicity seen with CAR-T, referred to as immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), is poorly understood. To better elucidate the clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes, and correlative biomarkers of ICANS, we review here a single-center analysis of ICANS after CAR T-cell therapy in R/R LBCL.

Conformal convolutional neural network (CCNN) for single-shot sensorless wavefront sensing.

Wavefront sensing technique is essential in deep tissue imaging, which guides spatial light modulator to compensate wavefront distortion for better imaging quality. Recently, convolutional neural network (CNN) based sensorless wavefront sensing methods have achieved remarkable speed advantages via single-shot measurement methodology. However, the low efficiency of convolutional filters dealing with circular point-spread-function (PSF) features makes them less accurate.

Role of Surgery and Perioperative Therapy in Older Patients with Resectable Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Background: It is unclear whether results from recent trials of resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are generalizable to older patients, who are underrepresented. We aimed to evaluate outcomes of surgery and of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy in older patients with resectable PDAC.

Patients And Methods: We included patients aged ≥65 years with upfront resectable PDAC from a prospectively maintained pancreatic cancer registry from 2007 to 2016.

Isolated Heme A Synthase from Aquifex aeolicus Is a Trimer.

The integral membrane protein heme A synthase (HAS) catalyzes the biosynthesis of heme A, which is a prerequisite for cellular respiration in a wide range of aerobic organisms. Previous studies have revealed that HAS can form homo-oligomeric complexes, and this oligomerization appears to be evolutionarily conserved among prokaryotes and eukaryotes and is shown to be essential for the biological function of eukaryotic HAS. Despite its importance, little is known about the detailed structural properties of HAS oligomers.

Individual Choice for the Aspiration Thrombectomy Treatment of Acute Iliofemoral Deep Venous Thrombosis.

Objective: To compare clinical efficacy, safety and cost of AngioJet rheolytic thrombectomy (ART) plus catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) and manual aspiration thrombectomy (MAT) plus CDT for acute iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis (DVT).

Methods: This was a retrospective study. A total of 126 DVT patients met the inclusion criteria.

Validation of American Joint Committee on Cancer 8 edition of TNM staging in resected distal pancreatic cancer.

Background: In order to improve risk stratification and clinical management of the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) has published its eighth edition staging manual. Some major changes have been introduced in the new staging system for both T and N categories. Given the rarity of resectable disease, distal pancreatic cancer is likely underrepresented in the published clinical studies, and how the impact of the staging system actually reflects on to clinical outcomes remain unclear.

Current processes and future challenges of photoautotrophic production of acetyl-CoA-derived solar fuels and chemicals in cyanobacteria.

The production of fuels and other valuable chemicals via biological routes has gained significant attention during last decades. Cyanobacteria are prokaryotes that convert solar energy to chemical compounds in vivo in direct processes. Intensive studies have been carried out with the aim of engineering cyanobacteria as microfactories for solar fuel and chemical production.

High-speed, multi-modal, label-free imaging of pathological slices with a Bessel beam.

Optical imaging of stained pathological slices has become the gold standard for disease diagnosis. However, the procedure of sample preparation is complex and time-consuming. Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) is promising for label-free imaging, but the imaging speed is limited, especially for whole slice imaging.

Adipose triglyceride lipase activity regulates cancer cell proliferation via AMP-kinase and mTOR signaling.

Aberrant fatty acid (FA) metabolism is a hallmark of proliferating cells, including untransformed fibroblasts or cancer cells. Lipolysis of intracellular triglyceride (TG) stores by adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) provides an important source of FAs serving as energy substrates, signaling molecules, and precursors for membrane lipids. To investigate if ATGL-mediated lipolysis impacts cell proliferation, we modified ATGL activity in murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and in five different cancer cell lines to determine the consequences on cell growth and metabolism.

Observer metamerism in commercial displays.

Two uniform patches presented on two displays under identical viewing conditions can appear as the same color to one observer but as mismatched colors to another observer. This phenomenon, called observer metamerism (OM), occurs due to individual differences in color matching functions. To avoid its potentially adverse impacts in display calibration and characterization, it is desirable to have a predictive model of OM.

Single-cell yolk-shell nanoencapsulation for long-term viability with size-dependent permeability and molecular recognition.

Like nanomaterials, bacteria have been unknowingly used for centuries. They hold significant economic potential for fuel and medicinal compound production. Their full exploitation, however, is impeded by low biological activity and stability in industrial reactors.

Delta-Like Protein 3 Expression and Targeting in Merkel Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose: Delta-like protein 3 (DLL3) is being developed as a predictive biomarker for DLL3-targeting antibody-drug conjugate and other therapies. Given the neuroendocrine features of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), we sought to evaluate DLL3 expression and its role in MCC.

Experimental Design: Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded MCC cases were consecutively selected.

Survival Benefit of Combination Chemotherapy in Elderly Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: Survival benefit of combination over single-agent chemotherapy for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) was demonstrated in younger patients in clinical trials. The authors aimed to evaluate whether this survival benefit of combination chemotherapy is present in elderly patients with metastatic PDAC.

Materials And Methods: The authors identified elderly patients (age 65 y or older) with stage IV PDAC and extracted available clinical information from a prospectively maintained institutional pancreatic cancer registry from 2007 to 2016.